A Review of Snoring Treatments

In this article, we will review snoring treatments and anti-snoring devices to help you determine which option is best for you.

Over the Counter Snoring Treatments Reviewed

The website of Walgreens drugstores allows users to rate and review snoring treatments and other products available from their online store. Of the anti-snoring products offered, Breathe Right strips scored the highest, with most users reporting satisfactory results, though a few complained of difficulty getting the strips to stay attached properly. Anti-snoring throat sprays scored less well, with one user saying that the results lasted less than ten minutes. Electronic devices for stopping snoring have not been reviewed at Walgreens.com nor, apparently, anywhere else, and so should probably best be regarded as experimental technology which you buy at your own risk.

Clinical Reviews of Surgical Snoring Treatments

Where surgical treatments it is advisable to look at the clinical trials rather than merely reading online reviews. The US National Institutes of Health carried out a clinical trial of both Laser Assisted Uvulo Palatoplasty (LAUP) and radiofrequency treatment, to determine which was more effective in the treatment of snoring and sleep apnea. The trial was carried out at Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan on 40 healthy volunteers, both male and female, in the fall of 2005 (apparently, even the US government is outsourcing to China now!). The study concluded that LAUP achieved better results in eliminating snoring, but that radiofrequency treatment provided less post-operative discomfort.

Ear, Nose and Throat specialists at the University of Cincinnati have also carried out a review of Pillar Implants on behalf of their manufacturer, Restore Medical Inc. At the time of writing this article, the study has been completed but the results have not yet been compiled.

Reviews of Natural Snoring Treatments

Reviews of herbal and other alternative remedies are hard to find, as the scientific establishment does not tend to take them seriously enough to warrant the same sort of rigorous testing that orthodox medicinal treatments are subjected to. Home remedies are generally handed down among families and friends, rather than being recommended by doctors. Nearly everyone has some sort of remedy that they swear by, and it is hard to evaluate how much is true and how much is just down to the placebo effect. However, on the positive side, there are few, if any, reports of anybody actually being harmed by a herbal remedy. It is very much a case of "if it works for you, fine, and if not, at leat it can't hurt".